October 1, 2026: Ontario Minimum Wage Is Now $17.95
Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour for work on or after October 1, 2026. The Employment Standards guide, updated September 28, 2026, lists that rate for the period October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. Ontario's October 1 news release says the increase is already in effect and covers more than 700,000 workers.
Our May 30 post recorded the announcement and said $17.95 was not yet the legal minimum. That filing-date style distinction is now closed. The rate in force depends on when the hours were worked, not on when the announcement was made.
What changed on October 1
The Employment Standards Act, 2000 sets an annual October 1 adjustment tied to the Ontario Consumer Price Index. The October 1 release says this year's increase follows a 1.9 per cent CPI figure. On the general rate, a worker at 40 hours a week sees about $728 more over a year. That matches the arithmetic: $0.35 an hour times 40 hours times 52 weeks.
Specialized rates moved on the same date. These are the figures on the guide's table.
| Category | Oct 1, 2025 to Sept 30, 2026 | Oct 1, 2026 to Sept 30, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| General minimum wage | $17.60 per hour | $17.95 per hour |
| Student minimum wage | $16.60 per hour | $16.90 per hour |
| Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, less than five consecutive hours in a day | $88.05 | $89.75 |
| Hunting, fishing and wilderness guides, five or more hours in a day | $176.15 | $179.50 |
| Homeworkers | $19.35 per hour | $19.70 per hour |
The guide describes homeworkers as employees who do paid work in their own homes. It also says a student employed as a homeworker must be paid the homeworker rate, not the student rate. Who counts as a student for the lower rate is defined on that same page. Do not assume every person in school is on $16.90.
The release says about 35 per cent of minimum-wage workers are in retail trade and 24 per cent are in accommodation and food services. It also says the general rate has moved from $14 an hour in 2018 to $17.95 as of October 1, 2026.
A pay period that crosses October 1
The guide states the split-period rule in plain terms. If the change lands partway through a pay period, that period is treated as two separate periods. The employee is entitled to at least the minimum wage that applies in each period. Hours before October 1 stay on the old table. Hours on or after October 1 use the new table.
A payroll system that applies $17.95 to the whole period overpays the early hours. A system that keeps $17.60 for the whole period underpays the October hours. Both are compliance problems. The legal floor is the rate in force on the day the hour was worked.
What this does not change
This is the Employment Standards Act floor for covered employees. A contract that already pays more does not drop to $17.95, and a contract below the new floor cannot be used to pay less. The increase does not set a Labour Market Impact Assessment prevailing wage. ESDC wage rules for a work permit are a separate table.
It does not rewrite vacation pay percentages, public holiday pay formulas, or overtime thresholds. Where those amounts are calculated from wages, a higher base rate changes the dollar result. Some jobs are exempt, and federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code, not this Ontario table. Confirm coverage before you treat $17.95 as the number for a particular job.
What to check this week
If you are a worker, open the first pay stub that includes hours on or after October 1. Match the rate to your category: general, student, guide, or homeworker. If the period was split, both rates should be visible. Keep the stub and the schedule.
If you are an employer, update the payroll file before the next run that includes October 1 hours. A blanket change to $17.95 is wrong for a student who still qualifies for $16.90, and it is also wrong for a homeworker, who must be at $19.70. Guide days need the under-five-hour rate or the five-or-more-hour rate, not an hourly conversion you invent.
Unpaid wages can be raised in an Employment Standards complaint to the Ministry of Labour. Wrongful dismissal is a different claim, often in Small Claims Court, and the election rules matter. Our employment and workplace page sets out those venues.
If a stub is short, or a termination calculation used the old rate for October hours, contact JSR Immigration & Legals through the consultation page. Immigration files that depend on a wage, including some work-permit and nomination files, should use the rate the employer actually pays, checked against both the Employment Standards floor and any program wage rule.
This article is general information current to October 4, 2026, and is not legal advice. Confirm the live rates on Ontario.ca before you rely on them.
Immigration & paralegal practitioner at JSR Immigration & Legals, helping newcomers and Ontario residents with their cases.
This post is general information about Canadian immigration and Ontario paralegal matters and is not legal advice. Rules change and every case is different — confirm current requirements for your own situation.